Will rinsing tomatoes prolong storage?
jenswrens
6 years ago
Featured Answer
Comments (20)
Barrie, (Central PA, zone 6a)
6 years agoRelated Discussions
Does anything really prolong cut flowers?
Comments (34)Ice melter in a coastal town? If there is any I never registered it. But I'll ask around. By the time I'll find it I will not have enough flowers to do a control group. Ten days ago I had very few blooms and those I had I burnt with the OD calcium nitrate. Right now most of my roses are blooming like crazy; I guess they appreciate that we took the risk and watered them once. (Watering is allowed twice a week between 1 and 4 AM. that is the time frame when I certainly would avoid watering or even step outside into the 90+% humidity) Cl. Peace never bloomed in August nor did Paul Neyron. Like they enjoy this weather. I cut a lot for inside because the flowers fry in two days on the bush. So this would be an excellent time to do an experiment with a control group. I may try calcium nitrate again but with a very small dose. I gave a pinch of citric acid and a pinch of sugar to the water in every vase....See MoreCanna Storage Suggestions
Comments (40)Please donÂt get too carried away with the "after frost kills" them. I have made this statement for people to understand the poor practice of harvesting early. The frost does kill the foliage and basically slows or stops productive rhizome growth (not totally). Normally, frost (light freezing) will indicate the soil temperatures have also fallen to a temperature range of ideal storage temperatures. Rhizome metabolism has also adjusted and the sugar to carbohydrate food reservoir is more complete. All these things play some role in successful winter storage. Frost or light freezing weather will severely "burn" the above ground foliage. Hard freezing weather typically causes the stems (canes) to turn to mush and fall over. This makes for a slimy plant to handle. It might be advisable to cut the mushy canes and remove the refuse from the growing site and allow the plants to stay in place to help dehydrate the canes (dry out) before digging. Sometimes the gardener may choose to leave the plants in place for a more convenient time to dig. DonÂt think that just because you have a frost that you must dig on the next day. Soil temperature and storage temperature should be a major factor; the cooler the temperature the better (within reason) and definitely a few degrees above freezing. Sometimes people (particularly the pot grower) allow the plants to get bone dry and I think this is a mistake but not necessarily fatal. Excessively dry soil (storage mediums) pulls moisture from the rhizomes; soggy soils (storage mediums) will likely cause storage rot. This is particularly true for extended storage time. Remember, commercial growers must start their harvest before frost and usually complete their digging after freezing. FBG has good advice, donÂt set dates; follow your best schedule. Alice, good to hear from you! Regards, Kent...See MoreSeed Starting/Saving/storage
Comments (13)As to canning peppers with no water bath, I have successfully done that for a few years now. I like the small, tender pepperoncini peppers and use a full strength vinegar and salt as a pickling brine. First, I wash and cut off all the stem and part of the crown. Each pepper then gets pierced with a skewer to allow air out and brine in, and is placed in the largest Food Saver canister with the vinear and salt brine. Instead of the Foodsaver vacuum, I use a more powerful pump, and pull a vacuum on them to force the brine inside the peppers. The vacuuum is left on for several minutes, as I also have a gauge to monitor its vacuum. Once I see no bubbling anymore, I remove the peppers into quart canning jars and make a fresh batch of vinegar salt brine. Each jar gets about half filled with the brine, then I pull a vacuum on them again, which makes a lot more bubbles and gets them to swell up a bit. I partially refill each jar several times, until I see very little of the bubbles. Then, I fill the jars with the brine to the headspace level, and also add a few more peppers due to them settling a little, then I add the lid. This is the final step for the vacuum and it will actually pull some of the vinegar brine out of the jars, and through the vacuum line. I have a large moisture trap that catches the liquid before the pump can see any of it. I pull the line off the top of the FS adaptor, which forces the canning lid into/onto the jar to make the strong vacuum seal. Then I remove the adaptor and rinse each jar under hot water to rinse off any liquid on the outside. Each jar gets a band screwed on, and the canning is done. This is the ONLY item I can using the vacuum method, as I do feel confident that the full strength vinegar and salt, will prevent any possibility of contamination, botulism, or listeria problems. The peppers do stay quite firm for about a year, and then start to soften a little. The last batch were milder peppers for some reason, either that, or I am getting used to the mild heat they exhibit after being pickled. Right off the plants, they are very mild and you would never think they had any heat. It only shows up after they get pickled. Next time, I plan to do a big batc of sweet cherry peppers, which are also one of my favorites. As mentioned, they are the highest acidic food that I use the vacuum pump to can....See MoreWhy the stinky smell on frozen tomatoes?
Comments (11)I watched an Italian cooking show on PBS years ago where the lady from De Medici Kitchens commented that Americans were crazy to give away all their surplus tomatoes in summer and then have to buy them in the winter as canned or fresh. Her answer was to freeze them! I never had room in the freezer to do so until this year as we bought a 2nd chest freezer. I froze tomatoes all season long by putting them in "food Grade" ziplock freezer bags (not storage bags). I tried making spaghetti sauce with some and noticed no odd smell. In fact they smelled quite nice cooking up. My wife and I were happy with the results but my children refused to eat the sauce after tasting it claiming that it had an odd flavor. Since it is the same sauce recipe I have used for years with either fresh or canned tomatoes, perhaps some people do have a better sense of smell/taste. I am perplexed if I will freeze tomatoes again or not. It sure was a lot easier than canning them....See Moretrickyputt
6 years agoncrealestateguy
6 years agotrickyputt
6 years agoMokinu
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agotrickyputt
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agojenswrens
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agotrickyputt
6 years ago
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